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AIDS In Utah: Salt Lake City
HIV/AIDS is most prevalent in the Salt Lake Valley, which happens to be the most populated place in Utah and also the most diverse. If the population is separated by race, income, and location there are correlations to cumulative HIV/AIDS cases. Going off some data and just a perspective of a resident of the Salt Lake Valley, one would assume that the most likely to become infected is the black gay male with a medium income, living in or very close to Salt Lake City.
The reasons that the disease is spreading in Utah mostly by MSM (men having sex with men) are really unknown, but from just looking at information about Salt Lake, one may come up with some assumptions. With Salt Lake International Airport being the 18th busiest in the world, one would guess that there is a diverse group of people from all over the world that come into the Salt Lake Valley. The book The Band Plays On by Randy Shilts is an accurate description of how the AIDS epidemic came and spread through North America and also European nations. In the book Shilts makes an implication that at the beginning of the epidemic, the main carriers of the virus were airline attendants. This association with HIV/AIDS and airports may provide some explanation as to why the Salt Lake Valley is much more infected than the rest of the state (that is of course in comparison to other populated areas).
Salt Lake City has been said to have a significant gay population, with the second largest parade in the state is a gay-pride parade which is part of the annual Utah Pride Festival held every June. In an upcoming tourism book, Salt Lake City was ranked the 51st most gay-friendly place to live. “I was actually surprised,” writer Gregory A. Kompes admits. “I was surprised at the support and turnout for the big gay events from inside and outside the gay community. I was surprised at the marketing efforts being done by private companies and the city itself, letting the world know that it would make these changes.” This ranking shows that there must be a significant gay population. This led me to find that there are gay clubs, but only in Salt Lake City. One of the most popular clubs according to Andrew Collins from Your Guide to Lesbian Gay Travel Industry is the Hotel Monaco, and also one ranked by SaltLakeCity.com was The Bourbon Street Bar and Grill, “A gay-friendly bar and grill that summons the gods of Mardi Gras for outrageous nightly excitement. Live music and colorful trappings attract a young, friendly crowd who drink like they're in New Orleans even in the middle of a non-alcoholic Mormon desert.” This could possibly be a cause of transmission, where gay men meet other gay men.
Salt Lake City’s east side has a higher property value than the west side because living on the “East Bench” is very appealing and also that particular area is very wealthy, therefore the streets are much cleaner with a strong focus on community and family. Interstate-15 further divides the east and west; Glendale, Rose Park, and Poplar Grove are all known for their high crime and gang affiliated activity. Those places and the towns that surround them have a very low per family income. Sugarhouse, on the other hand, near the southeast portion of Salt Lake City has become somewhat gentrified. Also the Upper Avenues has been made into the real estate jackpot, which is northeast of the city and entirely residential. Federal Heights, which is just northeast of the University of Utah, contains gated communities with large, multi-million dollar homes and not to forget the excellent view of the Salt Lake Valley. Upper Avenues in Salt Lake City
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Politicians in the Salt Lake Valley are very diverse in their opinions about HIV/AIDS, the gay community, and gay rights. Rocky Anderson, the Mayor of Salt Lake City, is a liberal democrat (one of the few) and he proposed a bill in 2005 that would have extended health insurance benefits to city employees and their same-sex partners. This legislation would have been justified by the partners living with each other. In other words like a married couple, but obviously a gay or lesbian couple cannot legally be married in the state of Utah1. Rocky Anderson received disapproval for his support of this bill, and his biggest critic was republican State Senator, Chris Buttars of West Jordan when he said “he [Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson] has attracted the entire gay community to come and live in Salt Lake County.” 2 On December 14, 2005, Senator Buttars proposed an unfrequented legislation to ban the gay-straight alliance clubs within the public schools in the valley. That did not pass so he tried again with a small adjustment; students involved in the gay-straight alliance clubs would have to have a permission slip signed by their parents, ultimately discouraging involvement for fear of student’s parents knowing what they joined. Buttars stated, “I just don’t believe members of sexual-orientation clubs should be sanctioned by the public schools. They should not be allowed to have that on school property at all. It’s just wrong.” 3 Another influential political figure who is against anything to do with gay or lesbian issues is Salt Lake City businessman and LDS church member Larry H. Miller, who drew considerable national attention in 2006 when he refused to play the movie Brokeback Mountain, which won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, at the local theaters he owned.
Another thing that brings diversity among the Salt Lake population is the tourist industry. With 8 ski resorts within 40 miles of the city, many job opportunities for the middle to lower class are available. Around 10% of the population’s employment is with some sort of tourism, which is the 3rd highest means of employment. Governor Jon Huntsman Jr. has provided new legislation for the Office of Tourism that should increase the amount of tourists by 5 million annually. So, this will up the numbers of tourists and possibly increase the amount of HIV/AIDS cases among the population. All the Ski Resorts in Utah with a semi-accurate picture of the Salt Lake Valley
